The 2003 University of California Press edition of Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn is the eighth volume in The Works of Mark Twain
series. It supersedes the 1988 critical edition, which was published prior to
the 1991 discovery of the first half of the book's original manuscript. The
2001 Mark Twain Library edition, intended for general readers, was drawn
from this more comprehensive edition. The Library edition was reviewed
on the Mark Twain Forum in May 2002. That review is available online at <http://www.twainweb.net/reviews/hf2001-2.html>.

The discovery of the first half of the handwritten manuscript of Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn provided a wealth of insight into how and when Mark
Twain wrote, revised and perfected his literary masterpiece. It is a credit
to all involved--the heirs of James Fraser Gluck, the man who had possession
of the manuscript at the time of his death in 1897; the Buffalo and Erie County
Library, which now owns both halves of the manuscript; and the Mark Twain Project,
which had exclusive publication rights to previously unpublished works--that
a legal agreement was reached regarding ownership. The agreement prevented the
sale of the manuscript to rare book dealers who, according to rumors, were planning
to pool $1.5 million for purchase, break the manuscript apart and resell individual
pages. If that had happened, the manuscript would have been scattered and significant
literary history lost. With the recovery of 664 manuscript pages, the total
number increased from 697 to 1,361 pages. In the 1985 Library edition
and the 1988 Works edition, the editors at the Mark Twain Papers identified
more than 2,600 variants--discrepancies in words, spelling, punctuation, emphasis,
and capitalization between the first edition of Huckleberry Finn published
in 1885 and Twain's manuscript. The editors attributed approximately 1,500 of
these discrepancies to revisions that were made by Twain. Today, approximately
5,800 variants can be found and only about 3,600 are attributed to the author.

The purpose of any authoritative and "critical text" edition of a
book is to establish a text that reflects the author's intentions as precisely
as possible and "place before the reader not only the text itself but the
evidence and reasoning used by the editor to establish it" (p. 775-6).
With painstaking analysis and research, the editors have rejected variations
and corruptions attributed to typists, proofreaders, and other hands involved
in the publication process. They have restored words and passages inadvertently
omitted from the first edition. The numbers of primary documents involved in
the first publication make the task monumental. Among these are the complete
manuscript, three separate typescripts of the manuscript that Twain revised
heavily and which have never been found; the first edition of Life on the
Mississippi which contains the "raftsmen" passage originally intended
for Huckleberry Finn and is now considered an integral part of the book;
proof sheets for both books which contained corrections made by Twain; the salesmen's
prospectus, which was approved by Twain; and the Century Magazine which
printed excerpts of Huckleberry Finn. Weighing and comparing all available
evidence, the editors have established the most authoritative text to date.

A reader needs to look no further than Twain's "Notice" at the beginning
of the book to find changes. The new version reads, "Persons attempting
to find a Motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to
find a Moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a Plot in it
will be shot." The words "Motive," "Moral," and "Plot"
are all capitalized for the first time. A subtle, yet distinctive, emphasis
on the reading of those words--as Twain intended. However, the phrase, "persons
attempting to find a Moral in it will be banished" does not appear in the
handwritten manuscript. The variation is deemed to be a significant one that
would have been made only by Twain and was evidently made on the edited typescript
which is now lost.

Careful examination of inks and papers used in the manuscripts reveal that
Twain wrote Huckleberry Finn in three distinct time periods in 1876,
1880, and 1883. By establishing a definite time frame for each stage of the
writing and specific chapters, scholars and researchers can more accurately
determine the influences on Twain's composition during each time period.

Examination of the manuscript shows that perfecting written dialect did not
come easily for Twain. He constantly revised and corrected syllables, sounds,
and phrasing. He attempted to downgrade his own proper and literary words "as
if" to "like"--a word that Twain once chastised his brother Orion
for using, calling it a "wretched Missourianism" (Mark Twain's
Letters, 1876-1880, An Electronic Edition, Volume 3: 1878). In other instances,
he attempted to refine his wording. Phrases like "sugar teat" (p.
863) and "bowel trouble" (p. 894) appear in the handwritten manuscript
but are emended in the first edition--another example of changes that were evidently
made on the lost typescripts. It is also important to note that although William
Dean Howells did read the typescripts and provide comment, such revisions are
attributed only to Twain.

Along with the authoritative text, annotations, glossary, samples of revised
and deleted passages from the manuscript, and a selection of manuscript facsimiles
(items that also appeared in the 2001 Library edition), the 2003 Works
edition contains seven appendixes which provide additional items essential
to the study of the book's history and composition. Among these are Twain's
working notes. These were also featured in the 1988 edition, but the sequence
and chronology of the notes, which were originally identified by Bernard DeVoto,
have been revised. Another appendix is devoted to all of Mark Twain's marginal
working notes--notes appearing on the manuscript pages but not considered passages
within the manuscript itself.

In 1884-1885 and 1895-1896, Twain engaged in speaking tours giving readings
from Huckleberry Finn. His lecture readings did not always match the
printed text of the book. Two appendixes provide photocopy facsimiles of the
pages Twain marked and revised for oral presentation. One passage from his book
reads, "She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn't do nothing
but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up." His handwritten revision
of the passage reads, "She put me in them new clothes again, & they
make you feel all cramped up & uncomfortable, like a bee that's busted through
a spider's web & wisht he'd gone around" (p. 624). One might think
that Twain's lecture notes could be used to establish his original intentions
when he was writing the novel. However, the editors reject that theory and feel
that such revisions were intended only for oral presentations.

Victor Fischer and Lin Salamo's 130-page "Introduction" is placed
after the appendix section. It is much more than an introduction to the editorial
methods used to establish an authoritative text. It is a comprehensive discussion
of all facets of the writing, editing, production, illustrating, controversies,
early dramatizations, and enduring legacy of Huckleberry Finn. This section
draws from Twain's letters as well as collateral correspondence among Twain's
friends and associates. Some of the correspondence has been previously available
only on the microfilm editions of Twain's letters and is now more widely accessible
in this Works edition. Twain's original dedication, which was never printed
in any edition of the novel until it was inserted in the "Foreword"
to the 2001 Library edition, is accompanied by the information that it
was tipped into the first bound copy of Huckleberry Finn which is hand
dated November 26, 1884 by publisher Charles Webster--a landmark date in the
book's production.

Illustrator Edward Kemble drew at least 175 illustrations for the first edition
of Huckleberry Finn. The locations of only forty-one of the original
illustrations are known at this time. Kemble's illustrations played a prominent
role in the novel. The editors make clear that Twain did give Kemble a great
deal of free rein in deciding what to illustrate and suggesting captions for
illustrations. However, Twain did approve, reject, and criticize the illustrator's
work. For example, he refused to allow publication of the drawing of "the
lecherous old rascal kissing the girl at the campmeeting"(p. 720). Yet,
an illustration depicting Jim telling his ghost story, a passage that was later
eliminated from the text, was included. It is worth noting that the editors
do not reinstate the passage popularly known as "Jim's Ghost Story"
into the text. It is, instead, presented in an appendix as a passage that Twain
intentionally deleted from the final text.

Prior to publication of the book, Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine
published three excerpts of Huckleberry Finn in the December 1884, January
1885, and February 1885 issues. The editors provide insight into the business
decisions and editorial decisions involved in arranging and editing the text
for magazine publication. Publication in the Century generated one of
the earliest documented protests made against the book. Editor Richard Watson
Gilder provided Twain a copy of the letter, but not before removing the writer's
signature. The letter, written by a school superintendent from South Pueblo,
Colorado, called Huckleberry Finn "atrocious, and destitute of a
single redeeming quality" (p. 756). A section of the Introduction titled
"Readers, Reviewers, and Controversy: 1884 to the Present" provides
a wealth of information on other initial reactions to the book along with some
of the earliest contemporary reviews. Letters Twain wrote in response to the
novel's controversy are quoted at length.

The final sections of the Works edition contain discussions and facsimiles
illustrating how the editors made decisions in establishing certain passages;
complete lists of emendations as they are found across different primary versions
of the text; and a section on alterations Twain made in his manuscript. These
particular sections of the book will be especially helpful if used in conjunction
with "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn": The Buffalo and Erie County
Public Library CD-ROM Edition (available only in limited distribution at
this time) which contains full-color photo reproductions of each of Twain's
manuscript pages.

Twain's novel continues to be a landmark in American literature. The reference
and bibliography section of the 2003 Works edition has almost doubled
in size when compared to the 1988 edition. It is a testament to the unabated
research, writing, and interest that Mark Twain and Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn continue to generate. It also underscores the need for accuracy the
editors at the Mark Twain Papers and the University of California editions continue
to provide.

For those readers who are trying to decide which edition is best suited to
their needs, a comparison chart of the 2001 Library edition, 2003 Works
edition, and the 1988 Works edition is provided below.